Parade filled with flora, fauna, fans, fight songs and flyover

Parade filled with flora, fauna, fans, fight songs and flyover

Sometime around 7 a.m. Pacific Time on New Year's Day, floats were getting into position in Pasadena as Penn State fans among approximately 1 million spectators along the route of the 120th Rose Parade. The annual parade, 25 years older than the football bowl game, was started by horse-riding members of the local hunting club who decorated their horses and photographed them for relatives and friends in colder parts of the country to show off the beautifully mild winter weather in southern California.

Many Penn Staters on the official alumni bowl tour secured grandstand tickets near the start of the parade route and, to get to their bleacher seats, had to squeeze past longtime curbside spectators who had camped outside as early as Sunday, Dec. 28, to secure their spots.

A little Nittany Lion overlooked a veritable sea of Marines lining up for the start of the Rose Parade. The damp, chilly air in early-morning Pasadena had been foggy and probably near 40 degrees when Penn Staters boarded their buses at 5 a.m. bound for their parade spots, so the little lion was probably comfortable in his snuggly costume even when the parade stepped off at 8 a.m.

Rose Queen Courtney Lee and her court offered their royal waves to the Penn State alumni section of the crowd. A Pasadena independent newspaper captured a photo of Queen Courtney taking digital snapshots of herself as she sat on the float, so apparently she was as excited to be a part of the event as spectators were behind her, snapping their own photo mementos of the occasion.

The intricate details of the floral floats, as seen in this elephant adorning the "Bollywood Dreams" float that represented the Sierra Madre Rose Float Association, was evident as each float passed the crowd.

Grand Marshal Cloris Leachman -- the female performer with a record eight Emmy Primetime Awards, one Daytime Emmy and an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in 1971's "The Last Picture Show," not to mention her recent resurgence in fame as a contestant on "Dancing with the Stars" -- was once again surprised by the vocal presence of Penn State fans who greeted her at the parade.

Kiwanis International's "Sharing the Great Outdoors" float, as seen in progress by many Penn Staters during sneak peek tours on Dec. 30 and 31, is topped off by the finished bear, which was decorated using palm fiber accented with pampas grass, according to the official souvenir program of the parade.

Penn Staters lining one side of Orange Grove Boulevard are easily seen in their white attire as the finished Kiwanis International float passes by that grandstand. On game day it wasn't hard to locate Penn State fans in their Penn State White Out clothes.

Suddenly it was the moment every Penn State fan had been waiting for -- Penn State's representation in the Rose Parade. The sound of the Blue Band, led by Blue Sapphire P.J. Maierhofer, brought Nittany Lion fans to their feet.

As the Blue Band made its way under Pasadena's palm trees, their day of events had just begun. They regrouped for a performance at the official Penn State tailgate before heading in to perform to a nationwide audience during the Rose Bowl game.

Cal Poly Universities' float -- titled "Seaside Amuseument," which won the first-ever Viewers' Choice Trophy -- appeared in finished form at the parade. the front of the float, which was only a field of sand-colored organic material and glue around noontime on Dec. 30, was transformed to a beautiful spray of blue and white flowers to represent waves crashing on the shore. But perhaps Penn State fans could consider that a subtle display of support.

Floats appealed to parade fans of all ages, but perhaps the "Believe in Music" float by NAMM, the International Music Products Association, was a favorite among the youngest viewers. Sesame Street characters Big Bird, Elmo, Abby Cadabby and Oscar the Grouch were led at the front of the main float by Bob McGrath (seen in the red sweater), an original cast member and singer in the show for 38 years and counting.